Project Log: Skaven Warp-Skryre Tower, Part 13

It's all about the little details...

Before tackling the base, there were a few bits that I needed to address–

The tall ladder fit in place nicely, but with the support beam and other details on the upper deck, I thought it might look a little cramped.

 

 

So, I removed a rung from the bottom and lowered it a little. I also made little brackets to attach it to the walkway. The brackets were made by cutting a ring cut from styrene tube and slicing away a portion so it would wrap around the front of the ladder and connect to the plastic rail on the walkway. I also cut two thin strips of plastic and added rivets cut from styrene rod.

 

 

When fit in place, it looks like a pair of brackets bolted onto the deck frame.

 

 

The large skull also had a little work done. I carved some cracks into the stone, and made the rune by carefully cutting V-shaped grooves and then deepening them with my hooked sculpting tool.

 

 

The telescope was angled a little low, and I wanted to aim it a higher so it was more in line with the warp-accumulator. I wasn't about to rebuild the telescope, but by propping up its base, I could get it to aim higher. I made this support beam out of Gnawhole timbers. The parts are pinned together, and I extended the wrappings around both posts with modeling putty.

 

 

The beam is pinned in place at both ends, and forces the platform to flex upward a little. It also enhances the "ramshackle construction" aesthetic and adds more beams on the rear of the structure.

 

 

I've had this bit from the Screaming Bell rattling around in my parts box. Since I'm a big proponent of not letting any piece of a kit go to waste, I wanted to use it to mount a bell on the tower. I was torn between the bell from the old Man O' War Skaven Doombringer ship (left) and the bell from a Warmaster Screaming Bell (middle). 

 

 

I settled on the Doombringer bell; the ropes at the top looked like a better attachment point, and it was the right size. Cutting it away from the tower was a royal pain, but I was able to run a pin through the ropes, all the way along the length of the top rail...

 

 

...and pin it into the support beam. I'm always nervous about thin bits sticking out from the scenery, but with the metal pin reinforcing it, the bell is pretty sturdy.

 

 

With the lowered ladder, it looks like a Skaven could climb up and fit under the bell. Maybe it serves as a "doorbell" to alert the engineers on top when someone is coming up?

 

 

The final bit was this little scene on the rocks. From the start I wanted to have a mouse hole somewhere with a tiny telescope. The left over bit from the Celestial Hurricanum made a perfect little orrery. With that and the mini telescope from one of the Hurricanum icons. I was able to create a little viewing station for the rats that live among the rocks. Why should their big brothers get to have all the fun?

 

 

There is one more area to address before I can stop noodling with the tower and focus on the base. I've already got a bunch of components to make some fencing around the entrance, and a piece of hardboard picked out to mount everything on. Hopefully I can get the construction finished before the year's out.

 

 

'Til next time!